Carlos Alcaraz admits the big mistake he made in the first set of his match against Francisco Cerundolo in Monte-Carlo

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Carlos Alcaraz was searching for his first career win at the Monte-Carlo Masters.

The world number three had struggled for form recently, as Alcaraz failed to win either Sunshine Double tournament.

Alcaraz’s defeat to David Goffin in Miami was his worst of the season, losing in three sets, 7-5, 4-6, 3-6, to the world number 55.

Travelling to Europe for the clay court season, the Spaniard hoped to get off on the right foot at the Monte-Carlo Masters.

Alcaraz won in three sets to advance to the third round but was in real trouble early on as he now admits the mistake he made during the first set.

Carlos Alcaraz says he made a mistake letting Francisco Cerundolo ‘dominate points’ in Monte-Carlo

Playing his first match on clay since Alcaraz lost to Novak Djokovic in the Olympic final last year, the 21-year-old battled past Francisco Cerundolo, 3-6, 6-0, 6-1.

During his on-court interview, Alcaraz admitted he made a big mistake during the early stages of his match against Cerundolo.

“I didn’t start well,” he said.

“I just wanted to get the good pace at the beginning of the match, but I made a lot of mistakes.

“I let him play inside the court and dominate the points.

“So I was more in the defensive part.”

Alcaraz made several tactical changes ahead of the second set that helped him turn things around.

“After the first set I knew that I had to do something else and play more aggressively,” he said.

“I had to play my own tennis and enjoy playing that tennis, drop shots, going to the net, playing more aggressive. I think I did it pretty well.

“I think the first and most important adjustment was the return.

“I tried to return closer to the line, pushing him on the first ball and then after that I played good and started to dominate the game.”

Alcaraz did indeed dominate from that point on, saving breakpoints in the first game of the second set before winning 12 of the next 13 games to book his spot in the last 16.

Who will Carlos Alcaraz play in the third round of the Monte-Carlo Masters?

Next up for Alcaraz is Germany’s Daniel Altmaier, who knocked out Richard Gasquet in his final appearance in Monte-Carlo.

• 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters 2R – Daniel Altmaier beat Richard Gasquet, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2
• 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters 1R – Daniel Altmaier beat Felix Auger-Aliassime, 7-6, 6-3
• 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters Q 2R- Daniel Altmaier beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert, 7-6, 6-3
• 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters Q 1R- Daniel Altmaier beat Jaume Munar, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5

Altmaier and Alcaraz have yet to face off on the ATP Tour but have played once before at a Challenger Tour event.

Alcaraz took down the German in straight sets, 6-1, 7-6, to advance to his second career Challenger final in Cordenons five years ago.

Since then, Altmaier has hovered between the ATP and Challenger Tours and is currently ranked 84th in the world.

Three of the 26-year-old’s four top-ten wins have come on clay courts, but Altmaier has yet to beat a top-five opponent.

It remains to be seen if Altmaier can pull off an unlikely upset when he takes on the world number three for a place in the quarterfinals on Thursday, April 10.